I'm probably the last person in the world that anyone would think would have piercings of any kind. I'm almost sure people are surprised that I have a cartilage piercing. When I got my nostril pierced people were in an uproar, but I wear a tiny stud, that's usually classified as "classy", so people have come to accept it. Most people that know me would probably have a heart attack to know about my nipple ring.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When Two years ago Artist Name withheld Studio Roxxi's gifts Location Addison, IL The first time I decided to get my nipple pierced it was a spur of the moment thing. A couple of friends and I were on our way to the movies (I think we were going to see The Fast and The Furious) and the movie didn't start for another hour or so. We were trying to figure out what to do and I said "How about I go get my nipple pierced". My friends were shocked to say the least, but we went to a shop down the road. I wasn't pleased by the setup because the piercing area was in the middle of the shop, with just half walls enclosing it. I wasn't freaked out by random strangers seeing my nipple, but a friend of a friend was with us and it seemed a little weird to let him see my naked breasts...so we moved on to another shop.
I'd had my navel pierced at this other shop a few months prior, and even though I wasn't too satisfied by the results, I was hoping that a different piercer would make me a bit happier. My navel was pierced too deep and with a ring, and it not only looked dumb as hell, no normal jewelry would fit because it was too deep. I just chalked it up to my needing to lose a few pounds and not to the piercing staff being incompetent. Other people had gone there with no ill effects.
Well when I arrive I'm greeted by a gorgeous girl with colorful dreadlocks and a larger gauge septum piercing. She tells me that she's the piercer for today and I tell her exactly what I wanted. I wasn't picky about jewelry or gauge, and I was fine with their standard 14g CBR. The piercing went along pretty uneventful. You've probably read enough nipple piercing experiences and you know exactly what happened. Things are cleaned...nipple is clamped...needle goes through...jewelry goes in...nipple is examined...I leave on my merry way with my little secret and some instructions to clean it.
The problem started with the swelling. Apparently the jewelry wasn't really the right size for my anatomy and when my nipple would swell (which was often) there'd be an indentation or groove where the actual ring was. I thought this was normal, the same as I thought about the crusties and occasional burning sensation.
This went on for a few months and I thought everything was healing up quite nicely. The pain had subsided and the crusties weren't as frequent.
Well we knew this wasn't going to end on a good note anyway, so on to the tragic day. One day as I'm detangling my hair in the shower (as one does with super curly hair), my comb got stuck on my CBR and made me hit a high note I've never hit before. I calmed myself down because I was at a friend's house and her parents were home and the last thing I needed was for them to run in and "rescue" me. I had a "great" idea, if by great I mean completely stupid, I put a band-aid on it. I don't know why it didn't occur to me that the band-aid wouldn't save it and I was just prolonging the rejection process.
My nipple ring was unsalvageable. It began migrating pretty quickly. It was oozing and hot and painful and it started actually shifting it's location. I couldn't tell if it was painful or pleasurable, but there was an intense sensation in my nipple at all times (I actually think that's what made me hold onto it for so long). It got to a point where you could see the ring through the actual nipple, which isn't supposed to happen. It was basically just hanging there. It was a sad, disgusting sight. I retired it and gave up.
I feel like I was defeated.
I tried again. The second piercer I went to was the best. He is definitely the most professional piercer I've ever met. He made me feel very confident with his work and it was only after my getting my nostril re-pierced by him, having him change my jewelry for me and talking countless friends into going to him that I decided to have my nipple re-pierced by him. His measuring and actually remembering me made me feel more comfortable. He did an excellent job on my nipple. The placement was awesome and I had a really nice 12g circular barbell (which I lost at the airport when it set the metal detector off). I made some stupid decisions during the healing time, like going to a water park and not beating the hell out of people when they'd hit my pierced nipple on purpose and allowing my boyfriend to play with it well before it was healed.
I intend on trying again sometime in the near future. Possibly in the next 6 months I'll try one more time, probably on the other nipple. They always say third time's a charm right?